Svend Andersen was born in Denmark in 1942, where he attended the Royal Technological Institute of Copenhagen; in 1963 he went to Switzerland to study the worlds best watches. In 1969 he made, his first Bottle Clock which brought him the nickname "Watchmaker of the impossible" as nobody had ever created such a clock.

Among his notable apprentices were Patek Philippe and Frank Muller. In 1989 Svend Anderson created the World's Smallest Calendar Watch, and five years later the World's Thinnest World Time Watch at only 4.2mm.